Sanitary can and seal



Oct. 27, 1925. 1,559,096

w. M. HALL INVENTOR WzZZza/n MHall A TTORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' WILLIAM M. HALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.; FRANCIS M. HALL ADMINISTRATOR OFSAID WILLIAM M. HALL, DECEASED.

SANITARY CAN AND SEAL.

Application filed January 10, 1924, Serial No. 85,413. Renewed August 1,1925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ,VVILLIAM M. HALL, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, borough ofhianhuttan, in thecounty and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved SanitaryCan and Seahof which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates'to containers and particularly to tin cans andsealing means therefor and has for an object to provide an improvedstructure which may be quickly, economically and easily sealed andunsealed.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a seal for a can or othercontainer in which co-acting folding portions are provided, not onlyacting as a seam structure, but as means for containing sealingmaterial.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a seal for a tincan in which an annular groove is provided in the can and an annulardepending co-acting portion is pro- Vided on the lid fitting into thegroove, the groove structure and the depending structure on the lidbeing capable of bending into a very close relationship.

A further object of the invention is to provide an effective seal whichmay not only be quickly sealed but'may be quickly and easily unsealedwithout the use of a conventional can opener or any other objectdesigned especially for can opening.

A still further object isto provide a seal for a can which does not usesolder and which may be opened by an instrument or by a blow against anobject without injuring the person opening the can.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a transverse sectional viewthrough a lid disclosing certain features of the invention.

Figure 2 is'a transverse sectional view through a tin can disclosingcertain features of the invention.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through the upper part of thecan shown in Figure 2 with the lid applied.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the seam andpart of the can and lid illustrating how the parts are assembled and howthe sealing material is held in place.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4- but showing the parts clampedtogether an d also illustrating how a. tool may-be used for opening theseal. 7

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, 1 indicates a canorother container which atthe upper end is bent down for forming atrough-shaped structure, 2, said trough-shaped structure being formedwith an annular flange 3. Co-acting with the trough-shaped structure 2is a depending annular bead structure 43 extending from the periphery ofthe lid 5. The bead structure 4 is adapted to be opened somewhat as wellas the trough shaped structure 2 though it is sufficiently pressedtogether at the lower edge to freely enter the troughshaped structure 2as illustrated in Figure 4. Preferably soldering wax or other suitableeasily melting soldering medium 6 is placed in the trough-shapedstructure 2 whenthe lid is to be sealed and'then the lid placed inposition as shown in Figure 4. When the lid is in this position, theflange 7 extending from the bead toverlaps the flange 3 while thecurvedwall 8 of the lid 5 fits inside of the curved section 9 of the can 1.From Figures 1 and 3, it will be seen that the lid is provided with adepending central part or rather the head 4. is spaced above the bottomof the lid so that the lid will project further into the can 1 than thebead overlaps the same. This is very desirable and permits a readycurving of the top of the can body when the parts are pressed togetheras indicated in Figure 5.

After the parts have all been assembled as shown in Figure 4, a suitableinstrument is caused to act upon the parts for squeezing them to theposition shown in Figure 5. The parts may be heated until the wax orother sealing medium 6 is melted before this squeezing operation or themelting may'be done by the squeezing apparatus if the same is heated. Bythis construction and arrangement, it will be noted that an interlockingseam of metal is provided and in addition a sealing medium is used whichpresents an absolute seal against the entrance of air or other foreignmatter. By providing the flange 7, an instrument 10 may be used foropening the seal, this instrument being a screw driver or knife usually.

The cover may be removed by striking with the object 10 so that theobject will engage the flange on the under side thereof.

This will liberate the cover by springing it free from its jacket and atthe same time break the sealing substance. Tihis construction of sealpermits the lid to be used a secondtirne or in fact for a number oftimes so that when goods are packed in. cans at the factory and the cansproperly sealed, they may be opened in the home and used for privatecanning as the opening of the lid Will not mutilate the same. It will benoted that the body of the can may be of any desired size and shape alsowhile the trough at the upper part is so shaped that the substance usedin sealing cannot flow into the contents or the can while the contentsare being heated preparatory to 2. l ing the cover. This arrangement oftrough permits the wax or other sealing medium to be readily placed inposition and then perinits the lid to be also readily placed in positionand squeezed transversely of the can body until the parts appearsubstantially as shown in Figure 5. In order to secure the best results,the bottom or body of the lid drops down or rather extends down belowthe annular bead structure l whereby the parts may be properly squeezedtogether and the upper end of the can curved at the same time.

' What I claim is 1. A can, comprising a body having an annular exteriortrough surrounding its upper end, and a lid having an annular exteriortrough provided With a duwnwardly extending flange on its outer Wall thetrough of the lid extending into the trough of the body With the outerwall oi the trough of the body extending between the outer wall of thetrough of the lid and its flange, the body and lid and their troughsbeing adapted to be pressed into engagement with the flange of the lidoverlapping the outer wall of the trough of the body.

2. A can or container and lid therefor, comprising-a can body formedwith an annular trough-shaped structure extending outwardly anddownwardly from the upper edge of said body and a lid body, the floor ofthe lid body being of less diameter than the interior of said can bodywhereby the lid body may be inserted into the can body for the depth 01?the lid, said depth being slightly greater than the distance that saidtrough-shaped structure extends downwardly, a sealing medium in thetroughshaped structure, said lid body being also formed with atrough-shaped structure er;- tending outwardly from its upper edge andhaving a flange extending downwardly from its outer wall, said troughstructure being anapted to extend into the trough-shaped structure ofthe can body and said flange being adapted to overlap the outer edge ofsaid trough-shaped structure of the body, said flange and trough-shapedstructures being nested whereby they may be collapsed simultaneously andinterlocked to seal the lid body in position on the can body.

WILLIAM M. HALL.

